Europe sketches Hormuz plan – without the US

TT

Published 2026-04-14 21.48

           

           French President Emmanuel Macron. Archive photo. Photo: Tom Nicholson/AP/TT

European countries are sketching a plan for how a broad coalition of countries should secure shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

But one country is excluded from the plan: the US, sources tell The Wall Street Journal.

Minesweeper ships and other naval vessels are expected to be sent to the important waterway between Iran and Oman in the operation.

French President Emmanuel Macron is said to have said on Tuesday that none of the belligerent countries – the US, Israel and Iran – can be included. European diplomats with insight into the discussions tell The Wall Street Journal that the European warships involved will therefore not be under American command.

The goal of the plan is to enable shipping companies to safely and securely resume traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

“The mission can only be staged when calm has been restored and hostilities have ceased,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Tuesday about a possible Hormuz operation.

It is already known that Macron, together with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has invited around 40 countries to a video conference on Friday to discuss the situation. The United States will not participate, but China and India have been invited, according to The Wall Street Journal.

According to the newspaper’s sources, Germany is said to be ready to take a key role, which would give an operation unexpected financial muscle and also important military capability.